Daily Archive for December 11th, 2007

Arkansas has finally ended its search for a new football coach hiring Atlanta Falcons head coach Bobby Petrino.

Bobby Petrino is the new Arkansas head coach

According to multiple reports, Petrino has resigned his position as coach of the Falcons and reportedly is on a plane headed to Fayetteville now. Petrino is 3-11 in his first season in the NFL after a very successful stint as head coach at Louisville. Petrino took the Atlanta job thinking he would get to coach Michael Vick, but Vick was arrested prior to the season for his involvement in dog fighting and other illegal activities.

In four years at Louisville, Petrino was 41-9 including a 12-1 mark and No. 6 ranking in 2006. Arkansas fans have hoped Arkansas would find an offensive-minded coach to replace Houston Nutt, who is now at Ole Miss. In Petrino, new Athletic Director Jeff Long has hit paydirt.

In 2006, Louisville ranked fourth in the nation in scoring (37.8 points per game) and second in total yards (484.6 yards per game). Louisville capped off the 2006 season with a 24-13 victory over Wake Forest in the BCS FedEx Orange Bowl. The team was recognized by having seven Cardinals earn first-team All Big East honors.

Petrino has SEC experience as well since he served as offensive coordinator at Auburn in 2002. In his lone season at Auburn, the Tigers finished 9-4 and led the SEC in pass efficiency and third-down conversions while also ranking third in the league in scoring offense, rushing offense and total offense. Auburn defeated Penn State 13-9 in the Capital One Bowl that season.

Petrino also served as Quarterbacks coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1999-2000 and then was offensive coordinator in 2001. During his time with Jacksonville, Petrino tutored Mark Brunell to his three best passing seasons in his career.

In four years at Louisville, Petrino’s record was 41-9. Louisville has been Petrino’s only head coaching stop in college.

Just hours after announcing the resignation of offensive coordinator Al Borges, Auburn is close to hiring Tony Franklin as his replacement according to sources within the AU and Troy athletic departments.

Troy Athletics

Franklin often used a two-back spread offense at Troy.

Franklin, who’s engineered a high-powered Troy offense the last two seasons, interviewed with AU head coach Tommy Tuberville earlier this week and could join the staff in time for the start of bowl practice Friday.

A formal announcement is expected to come in the next 24-48 hours.

The hire of Franklin would bring a dramatic shift to AU’s offense, which has relied heavily on the running game and a two-back, one tight end set during Tuberville’s nine seasons on the Plains.

Franklin is considered a guru of the spread offense, first bringing the attack to the SEC as an assistant at Kentucky from 1997-2000. The 50-year old Franklin has served as Troy’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the last two seasons.

Franklin directed a major turnaround in Troy’s offense. The 2005 Trojans finished last in the Sun Belt Conference in total offense but jumped up to second in the conference in Franklin’s first season and rank first this year (17th nationally) averaging 452.8 yard per game.

Franklin also recruited and developed Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook, who was named the 2006 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. Haugabook has completed 291-of-475 passes for 2,975 yards and 18 touchdowns, and rushed for 631 yards and 11 touchdowns this season leading Troy to an 8-4 record.

After averaging just 12 points per game in 2005, Troy averaged 25 points in 2006 and 34 in 2007.

Under Borges, Auburn’s offense currently ranks 101st in the country.

Auburn and Troy faced three common opponents in 2007: Florida, Arkansas and Georgia. AU’s offense averaged 16.3 points in those games while Troy’s averaged 30.3.

Franklin also brings with him a strong reputation as a recruiter and high school coach liaison. Troy’s summer football camp increased from only 125 campers in 2005 to more than 1,500 campers from 20 states under Franklin.

Franklin coached 16 years in high school before joining the Kentucky staff in 1997 as running backs coach. He was named offensive coordinator in 2000, directing the nation’s 11th best offense.

In 2001, Franklin authored a nationally acclaimed book, Fourth Down and Life To Go, which chronicled the good, bad and ugly experiences of his college football journey.

In 2003, Franklin was chosen to lead the expansion franchise Lexington Horsemen football team in their inaugural season in the NIFL. The Horsemen had a 9-5 record, averaging more than 50 points per game.

USA Today took notice of Franklin’s football coaching and teaching abilities in a feature story in 2005 which detailed his consulting successes as a nationally sought after offensive football coach.

Franklin also received rave reviews for his second book, Victor’s Victory, which chronicled the tragic death and spectacular life of 15-year-old Hoover High football player, Victor Hill. Hill died from sudden cardiac arrest on the football practice field during one of Franklin’s consulting sessions.

The book has helped to continue the mission of Cheryl Hill, Victor’s mother, to make teachers, coaches, and parents aware of the need for automatic external defibrillators (AED’s) in every school and youth organization in Alabama.

Franklin achieved both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in education from Murray State University where he was a two year starter as a running back. He is married to Laura Franklin and they have three girls: Chelsea (22), Caroline (19), and Caitlin (18).

Strong sources are indicating that Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will be the new head coach at Arkansas to replace Houston Nutt, who is now at Ole Miss.

AP: Todd J. Van Emst

Will Muschamp be the new coach at Arkansas?

Muschamp is regarded as one of the top young coordinators in college football and has installed an outstanding defense at Auburn. This past season, Auburn was No. 2 in the SEC in total defense allowing only 298.3 yards per game. LSU was just ahead of the Tigers at 283.8 yards per outing.

Auburn was third in the SEC in pass defense, No. 2 in pass defense and No. 1 in scoring defense. Auburn only allowed 16.7 points per game. Auburn was No. 7 nationally in scoring defense in 2006.

Muschamp could possibly be introduced as early as Wednesday at a news conference in Fayetteville (Ark.). The Arkansas search for Nutt’s replacement has taken on many twists and turns, but hiring Muschamp would provide a good ending.

Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville, Clemson Coach Tommy Bowden and Wake Forest Coach Jim Grobe have all been linked to the Arkansas job. Grobe was scheduled to be introduced as the new coach last Thursday, but he had a change of heart Wednesday night after reportedly agreeing to take the job on Wednesday evening.

Muschamp has no head coaching experience but will bring a nice resume to Arkansas. Muschamp started his coaching career at a graduate assistant at Auburn in 1995-96. He coached the secondary at West Georgia in 1998 and the secondary at Eastern Kentucky in 1999.

Muschamp was then named defensive coordinator at Valdosta State in 2000. He then moved to LSU from 2001-04 to become defensive coordinator and coach the linebackers. Former LSU Coach Nick Saban took Muschamp to the Miami Dolphins with him in 2005 as assistant head coach for the defense.

Muschamp returned to the college game in 2006 as defensive coordinator for Tuberville at Auburn. Though he left the NFL after only one season, it wasn’t because of lack of success. In 2005, the Dolphins were in the league’s Top 10 in yards per play (4.7, 7th), yards per rush (3.7, 7th) and yards per pass (6.0, 9th). Miami was second in the NFL in sacks in 2005 with 49.

In Muschamp’s four years at LSU, he coached four All-Americans on defense. The group included linebacker Bradie James, cornerback Corey Webster, defensive tackle Chad Lavalais and defensive end Marcus Spears.

Muschamp was a four-year letterman at Georgia as a safety and was a defensive co-captain as senior. While at Georgia, Muschamp played in the 1991 Independence Bowl and 1993 Florida Citrus Bowl. As a coach, he has coached in the 1995 Outback, 1996 Independence, 2002 Sugar, 2003 Cotton, 2004 Sugar, 2005 Capital One and 2007 Cotton Bowl. This year, Auburn will face Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl Peach Bowl on Dec. 31.

Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges has resigned and will not coach in the bowl game according to several published reports.

AuburnSports.com

Borges has led AU’s offense for four years.

An on-line report in the Birmingham News first broke the long-rumored news that Borges will not return after leading an AU offense that is currently at the bottom of the SEC in most statistical categories.

Auburn’s offensive production declined in each of Borges’ next three seasons. Auburn ranked 37th in total offense in 2005 and 76th in 2006. Heading into the Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A Bowl against Clemson, Auburn ranks 101st in total offense this season and is in the bottom half of the Southeastern Conference in almost every significant statistical category on offense.

According to the News, Borges and AU head coach Tommy Tuberville agreed to the departure over the last few days, and Tuberville is hoping to have a new coordinator in place before AU returns to practice.

Auburn is scheduled to begin bowl practice Friday, Dec. 14. AU will play Clemson Dec. 31 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

AuburnSports.com has learned that current Troy offensive coordinator Tony Franklin is a leading candidate to replace Borges. Franklin employs a spread offense at Troy that ranks 17th in the nation in total offense this season with 452.8 yards per game.

Borges led a high-powered offense in his first year on the Plains as Auburn cruised to a 13-0 record behind quarterback Jason Campbell and running backs Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown. The Tigers’ offense was ranked 25th in total offense in 2004 but fell each year, ranking 37th in 2005, 76th in 2006 and 101st in 2007.

The Way I see it is… basically we have been hearing all year that Borges and Tuberville have been butting heads on how to run the offence. Borges wanting to open it up Tommy wanting to keep things vanilla. If you remember from the Tuberville new deal talks Tommy wanted to have more power over how the program is run who knows if that was power to keep the lowders out of his decisions or whatever. But look, if there was a perfect time to bring in a new O.C. it would be NOW. I mean come on, they are doing it for Kodi. Borges offence didnt correspond to how Kodi runs things. Look at the prospect they are bringing in…Troy offensive coordinator. Have you seen Troy play? SPREAD SPREAD SPREAD…and some more SPREAD O. Tommy, just make sure you get the guy who is right for Mr. Burns. Comments?

Seriously, B. You’re the starting quarterback for a team competing for a national championship. There are pictures out there with you drinking with your 20-year-old girlfriend. I know she transferred from Bama to Auburn, but you’ve got to know some Bama student is going to see all this and try to embarrass the shit out of you. Yes, she’s hot and yes, she’s an ADPi sister, but c’mon. Also — Emily, you’re not doing your guy any favors. Just sayin’.

There is something to be said for her, though, as one Alabama girl said about the situation, “If you’re dating Brandon Cox, you’ve got to lock that down.”

But dressing up like a redneck isn’t going to do anything to get rid of those Auburn stereotypes.

As Massey wrote on her profile: Brandon said that if he hit the bulls eye then he loved me…and he did it on the first try!! I hope he didn’t say anything about his passing rating against Florida in a couple weeks.

Like I said, she’s hot, but contributing to the delinquency of a minor?

Massey’s description of the cuddle: Taking a nap at the worst hotel ever!! Too bad it was the team hotel for the Tigers’/War Eagles’/Plainsmen’s bowl game against Wisconsin. I guess that’s why he passed for under 50 percent and threw a pick on the opening drive.